BYOD backlash leads 2012 technology trends

I got a kick out of SearchHealthIT.com’s 2012 technology trends not to watch. Since the site launched in late 2009, it has written extensively about electronic medical records, personal health records and a few others. Now, it seems, many of these trends are showing signs of slowing growth.

Victims of hype? No. More likely, victims of expectations that were set too high for very complex technology initiatives. In the world of the CIO, we see this all the time. So in that spirit, here are a couple of trends I think will retreat in 2012.

Bring your own device (BYOD). This will be the year of BYOD backlash. Certainly, many companies are already allowing employees to use their own iPads, etc., for day-to-day work. But I sense that there will be some more serious thought put behind it this year. For one thing, companies may be all for iPads but will start to buy them and hand them out as company issue. Kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn’t it? Likewise, a good percentage of IT or security managers will revolt outright and ban the use of outside devices or make users register their own so usage can be monitored.

Big data. Raise your hand if you are sick of hearing about big data. Just remember that you cannot buy “big data” products, as much as vendors would like you to know they are the big data source. Big data is not even a set of technologies; it more closely resembles a strategy toward business intelligence. Watch this space this year for more information about how to create a BI strategy that can embrace all the data you have at your disposal. Until then, consider the benefits of “small data.”